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There’s no place like home.
They have been to countless beautiful places around the globe, admired breathtaking landscapes, experienced the most thrilling adventures their tight schedules allowed.
However, being in South Korea always feels different. Safer. This is their turf, their home — their whole lineage has sprouted from those lands. The notion gives him a deep sense of belonging; he fills his lungs with clear oxygen, which makes his vision sharper, more aware of the vibrant green and blue nuances surrounding him.
He is in his element, in every sense of the word.
A beep snaps him out of his reverie, signaling the battery of the camera he’s brought to the woods died. Taehyung averts his gaze from the body of water, not too far below the slope on which he sits, to the now useless device in his hands. He has been recording his solo hike to the top of that hill since he left the house, but he is not in a talkative mood; natural settings always encourage deep introspection. Most of the footage surely contains his face and his labored breaths as he walked up the terrain, then a handful of wows once he reached his current location and took in the beautiful view.
The staff won't be very pleased with his fruitless video log. Alas, Taehyung doesn't mind being the quietest Bangtan member. Ill-intentioned people will bend and twist his every move in spite of his best efforts anyway. An enigmatic front seems as good as any.
Taehyung drops the camera stick to his side unceremoniously, rather relieved to be unmonitored for a bit. There is a gentle breeze blowing among the tree branches around him, the rustling sound of leaves like a lullaby enshrouding him from the outer world. He leans back, both arms supporting his torso behind his body, legs crossed vaguely resembling the lotus position. His heart is peaceful, yet…
Yearning. As always.
With eyes closed, he takes a deep breath, uses the fresh smell of grass and earth to fuel his thoughts. His only thought at present.
Seokjin.
He exhales, lips puckered ever so slightly. Maybe he’s even thinking out loud, but there’s no one to hear it… Why not, then?
“I wish you were here.”
A smile blossoms on Taehyung's face once his memory conjures up the object of his affection behind his lids. In his mind, Seokjin’s tender eyes gaze back into his soul, his pink lips beg to be kissed until the world ends, his thumb strokes Taehyung’s knuckles as they hold hands. It's warm and sweet.
“I miss you.”
Taehyung breathes in again, wishes he were breathing against Seokjin’s neck, kissing him anywhere Seokjin wished his mouth to be, pouring out all the love threatening to burst out of his chest at any moment, the rest of the world be damned. As much as he feels Seokjin’s presence in his bones every second of every day, he craves being physically close, touching, sharing heat.
“I want to be in your arms.”
No sound tells him someone has arrived. His eyes pop open at the feeling of another person crouching behind him, sitting with chest flush with his back, arms wrapping around his middle.
“There you are.”
Taehyung melts instantly as Seokjin hums into his ear, squeezes him in a tight embrace.
He can’t believe his luck. Even his voice is smiling when he speaks.
“How did you find me? I thought you were supposed to be fishing with Yoongi-hyung.”
He can’t help but shiver when Seokjin plants a kiss to the base of his neck.
“I had a little help. I’m here now.”
“I was just thinking about you.” Taehyung wants to look at him, but Seokjin nuzzles the hair at the back of his head and it feels good, so Taehyung lets him. “Wishing you could enjoy the view with me.”
“It's beautiful. I love it.”
Taehyung closes his eyes again, focuses on Seokjin’s calm breathing against his jaw. If there is a heaven, he figures this is a tiny glimpse of his.
“So healing.” He lets out a breathy laugh, pliable in Seokjin's arms.
Seokjin places one hand on the left side of Taehyung’s chest after kissing the top of his head. His words make Taehyung want to cry happy tears.
“You deserve to heal.”
They spend a little more time in blissful silence, so blissful that Taehyung inadvertently dozes off.
When he wakes up, lying on his side on the grass, Seokjin is gone.
It’s a short walk back to the house. The way down usually goes by faster than the way up. Taehyung feels so light that it almost seems like he floated there.
“Taehyung-ah, where have you been?” Yoongi asks as they meet at the front door, getting rid of the life jacket Taehyung had seen him put on that morning to fish. He doesn't give Taehyung a chance to answer. “Go wash up, I’ll start working on dinner.”
He nods and hops into the house, where the other members are lounging cheerfully. Seokjin is nowhere to be seen.
“He’s showering,” Jimin announces from the couch as soon as he notices Taehyung's wandering gaze. Jungkook’s head is on his lap while Jimin’s fingers comb through his hair.
The evening goes by smoothly. They eat well, play games, laugh a lot. All of their faces are glowing with peace and joy, a sense of tranquility they last experienced in New Zealand. Everyone’s been out and about the island all day, so it’s no surprise that they're all spent and soon head to bed once collectively agreeing they’ve offered enough relevant footage for the time being.
Taehyung shares a room with Jimin and Hoseok; Seokjin shares another with Yoongi, while Namjoon and Jungkook share a tent for the night. Both his roommates fall asleep the second their bodies hit the beds, and even though Taehyung’s teetering on the edge of sleep as well, he knows better. He waits.
He barely gets through one level of the game he’s playing on his phone when the door opens. Seokjin slithers into the room, stealthily as always, and Taehyung takes him into his cocoon of blankets.
“Hey.” The mingled smell of Seokjin’s soap, toothpaste and skincare products floods his space. Taehyung grins. It's his favorite scent in the world.
“Hey, hyung.”
They kiss under the covers, with open mouths, hot breaths, yet fully aware of the other two boys sleeping nearby. The yearning in Taehyung's chest subsides and increases at the same time, a feeling he has learned to expect and given up trying to understand.
Although Seokjin parts their lips, his whispers still fall right into Taehyung’s mouth.
“I have to tell you something.”
Taehyung opens his eyes, studies his face, almost cross-eyed for being so close.
“Okay.”
“Something weird happened this afternoon.” Seokjin hesitates, but finds encouragement in Taehyung’s stare. “I was fishing with Yoongi-ah, and all of a sudden… He told me I passed out.”
He pauses for a second, struggling to organize his thoughts into a coherent piece.
“What do you mean?” Taehyung’s brows furrow, deep concern washing over his face. “Was that before or after you came to me in the woods?”
Seokjin turns to stone beside him.
“Huh?”
They gawk at each other in disbelief, faces perfect pictures of confusion, shock, even fear.
“VV… I never left the boat.”
Taehyung eyes him with a puzzled countenance before rolling his eyes and slapping Seokjin's arm softly.
“I’m worried about you, this is not the time to play games.”
“I’m serious. I didn't go to the woods.”
“Of course you did. You sat with me, I told you I wanted to share the view with you.”
If he tries hard enough, he can hear Seokjin’s brain working at full capacity. He grabs Taehyung’s wrists, urges him to be taken seriously.
“You said it was healing, didn't you?”
Taehyung huffs. “You were there, you know what I said.”
“Please. What else do you remember?”
“You said I deserve to heal.”
As much as Taehyung knows all about Seokjin’s impeccable acting skills, that performance, just for him under the blankets, is truly one for the books. The urgency in Seokjin’s eyes almost gives him chills.
“Holy shit. What the fuck was that?”
Okay. Seokjin's face is growing pale. That's definitely a red flag.
“Stop that, it’s not funny.”
“I swear I’m not joking! I was fishing all day with Yoongi-ah, then I got really dizzy all of a sudden, but not in a bad way. I was so drowsy and light-headed I couldn't keep my eyes open. I guess I blacked out for a bit. Next thing I know, the smell of your hair is all I can feel. My arms were around you too, I vaguely recall pulling you closer. I could see part of the lake, but my vision was so blurry. I thought I was going crazy, because when I replied, you heard me, and even answered back.”
For half a minute, Jimin’s and Hoseok’s calm breaths are the only sounds in the room. Taehyung tries his best to make sense of Seokjin’s words.
“If this is a joke, I swear…”
“It’s not.”
Seokjin takes one of Taehyung's hands and places it over his own chest for proof. Three seconds of restless drumming against his palm later, Taehyung shrieks and retrieves his arm.
“What the fuck, are you serious?”
“Yeah!”
His brain glitches big time. How could he have felt Seokjin's presence so strongly in the woods if Seokjin was never there? How did Seokjin know what he said if they were miles away? Every single hair on his body is standing on end.
“That's not possible! I– You– Someone hugged me there! Kissed my neck and shit!”
“I felt you shivering and thought I had lost my mind!”
“What the f—”
“Shh!”
A hiss comes from Hoseok’s bed. They purse their lips until the coast is clear again, then Seokjin restarts their panicked murmuring.
“This is the creepiest thing ever. I swear.”
“I don't know what to think.”
“Did we actually experience telepathy?”
Their words come out rushed, tripping on each other.
“I'm not so sure it classifies as telepathy. I couldn't tell what you were thinking. I just wanted to have you there with me, then you appeared.”
“I was thinking about you as well when it happened… Maybe we summoned each other?”
They search for explanations that don't exist in each other's eyes, speculate for almost half an hour, try to find articles about it online, to no avail. As mind-blown as they are, sleepiness eventually takes over stupefaction; Seokjin yawns mid-sentence as they go over the events for the nth time.
“It's pointless, hyung. We’re never gonna find out what happened for sure.” Taehyung leaves them in the dark by locking his phone screen, eyelids drooping.
“Yeah. To be honest, I’m not so sure I want to know. Let's just accept that it happened and move on.”
Their foreheads touch. Taehyung rubs the tip of his nose against Seokjin’s in an eskimo kiss.
“All I know, all that matters to me, is that I felt really good. I wanted to be with you so much, and in a way, I got my wish.” He yawns right into Seokjin’s face, one step closer to dreamland every time Seokjin's thumb slides back and forth on the curve of his waist under the shirt. “Whatever this was, it can't be bad, because it brought you to me.”
He gets a kiss on each eyelid in response.
“It did feel amazing. I could feel you all around me.” His voice is soft against Taehyung’s cheek. “I’m totally terrified, but I love us.”
Neither is entirely awake after a long day of physical exertion and the added impact of a potentially shared paranormal experience. Now that they're safe in each other's arms, for real this time, dread is quickly replaced with blind gratitude. They snuggle with all limbs tangled, even though somewhere in their minds they know Seokjin should go to his room. Taehyung already has an alarm set for these occasions anyway, so they allow themselves to give in to exhaustion.
“Love us so much,” Taehyung mumbles contentedly, squeezes Seokjin’s hand in his one last time before both surrender to slumber.
There are no clouds in the night sky. The wind ruffles the treetops, promises a beautiful day ahead. Everything is where it should be. They dream of walks in the woods, hands clasped together, ethereal laughter coming from nowhere, filling their ears.
There really is no place like home.